Trapped within the Silent Halls.

Arnette awoke to the feeling of a cold brick floor. She lifted herself up, confused by her surroundings. She tries to push herself up with her arms, only to find they were bound. In fact, her entire body was bound by a large white blanket. Almost like a baby wrapped in linen. She felt no other layer of clothing underneath the blanket, so she kept it on her body.

Arnette was able to stand only using her legs, made harder due to the weight of the blanket. After standing, she called to see if there were other people around. She received no response, there was no one, she was alone.

She walked around, going slowly due to the weight of the blanket. She slugged around the dark and eerily quiet bricked hallways, seeing no reason as to why she was even walking around in the first place. Arnette was confused, wondering how she even got where she was.

She continued exploring the dark depths of the brick halls, stopping at a sign hanging from the ceiling. The sign read:

THE SILENT HALLS. The labyrinth of memories. A Limbo between memories and trauma.

The silent halls? What was that supposed to mean? Arnette wondered as she continued walking she made several turns and saw many intersections and dead ends in the Labyrinth. Arnette felt lost, as if she would never leave or find an exit.

She decided to continue and walked further into the Labyrinth and found drawings on the wall. It was labeled: Map. Arnette observed the map closely, seeing arrows pointing in different directions. Some of the location names were complete gibberish, however two places on the map seemed intelligible:

-The streams of memories

-The office of The Odius

Arnette looked at the map for a good moment, she decided to go to the streams of memories. She didn't know why she wanted to head there, she just did.

As she continued walking through the Labyrinth, she heard the sound of pouring water, making her feel at peace in the midst of her confusion. Arnette looked into the halls before her and a staircase. She looked down to see glistening waters fill half the hallway as well as water streaming from the cracks within the bricks.

It was absolutely stunning to the eyes. Arnette was stunned, almost as if she was in a trance. She was quickly snapped out of her trance as she saw the figure standing in the water. The figure was humanoid and it looked masculine. It was wearing a suit that resembled a maid's outfit, yet it was only wearing the top part of the suit, leaving its lower half completely nude. Its skin was pale and its limbs were longer than anything Arnette has ever seen before. The being had hair bearing the color of yellow and orange combined. Its face had sunken eyes and a stern expression. It looked like it wasn't trying to pose any obvious threat, but Arnette was terrified of this mysterious being.

The being was facing away from her, Arnette was going to turn around and walk away. She turns to walk away, accidentally tripping on the blanket she's wrapped in. She falls to the ground with a loud thud. She freezes in terror knowing the mysterious figure heard the sound. The being turns its head towards the noise, looking slightly alarmed. It sees Arnette trying to scamper away, and swiftly turns its body to face her. The being spoke to Arnette, it's voice gentle and soft.

"Ah yes...another soul. It's been so long since I've seen a human here..."

The being approaches Arnette revealing its true height as it slowly lifted itself out of the water. Arnette tried to stand but the being was already looming over her.

"W-Where am I? Who are you?" Arnette asked frantically.

"I am the Caretaker, a warden of sorts for the silent halls. You are in an area beyond space and time. A place where all memories and fears of humanity are stored. I am here to archive and keep your most treasured memories safe. Do not be afraid."

"What about the bad memories? What happens with those?" Arnette asked, now more curious about this strange dimension.

"The Odius is responsible for keeping the Trauma and nightmares and bad memories archived. I used to be in charge of both areas, but that created instability. So The Odius was brought here and put in charge of humanity's trauma and nightmares. Dealing with the evil humans turned him into a hateful being."

"Do you know how I could get out of here?" Arnette asks.

"There is no possible escape from here. Humans leave here on the terms of a higher being...your possibility of escape depends on if you've satisfied the one who brought you here..."

"But WHO brought me here, exactly?"

"That's the one question I don't have an answer for...my apologies."

"What do I do now?..." Arnette asked defeated.

"If it's a resting place you need, follow me. As the caretaker, I am in charge of ensuring humans have a place to rest until they continue their journey. I am to provide a safe haven for humans, until you reach the outskirts that is."

"The outskirts?"

"The outskirts are like a sort of middle ground of the silent halls. It's not safe, but not too dangerous either. There are no resting areas there, because I don't reside there.."

"I-I don't understand why I'm here....I just...I need more explanation."

"Calm down young human....I will explain this place to the best of my ability. For now though, I'm going to take you to the safe haven so you can get some rest."

The caretaker takes the Arm of Arnette, standing her up with ease. He then leads her down the halls to the safe haven. Arnette was given a bedroom of her own to rest in as long as she wanted to, but Arnette wasn't worried about staying, she was worried about leaving. She remembered the words of the caretaker:

"...your possibility of escape depends on if you've satisfied the one who brought you here..."

Arnette needed to satisfy the one who brought her here....but how would she do that? As she laid in the bed she came up with a thought. "I need to see the Odius...Perhaps He might know something about the greater being..."

______________________________________________________________________________________

The Artist gazes into the Labyrinth from above, looking at the young adolescent running around the Hallways. Almost like a scientist watching her lab rat. The silent halls, The Artist remembers now...

She needed a place to keep her greatest memories as well as her fears and traumas. The last time she saw this place was when she was 13 years old. It was much larger than she last remembered.Think of it like a library within your brain. She created this place in her younger years, which explained the vast size of it now.

The Artist looks down to her right and spots the caretaker, she remembers the caretaker. The artist created him to resemble an older sibling. made him keep the world stable, however, she realized that this task was too much for him to bear alone, even causing his form to become corrupt. Trying to balance the joyous memories with the horrific trauma was detrimental to the world's existence. So she made someone who could handle the trauma of life.

The Artist looks down to her left and spots the Odius in his room, sulking as always. She remembers him, viewing him as the evil twin of the caretaker. She started to think about him. She created him to monitor over the nightmares and trauma within the silent halls. She tried to give the Odius a stronger body to withstand the corruption, but alas' his body was broken down too, just like the caretaker. Due to Odius being exposed to all the evils of life, he grew to hate humanity, including The Artist herself. This caused him to become increasingly hostile towards life, which resulted in him separating himself from The Artist, The Caretaker, and life as a whole. In all honesty, The Artist felt bad for Odius, she loves the caretaker and Odius as her own children, but the Odius just distanced himself.

With that Her train of thought ended, and she leaves. Not giving another thought to Arnette, who was still lost and wandering within the Labyrinth.